Claims His Second New York State Title in Three Years
Story By: JASON CUNNINGHAM / NASCAR SERIES MEDIA Photos By: DUANE CANFIELD / RACERSGUIDE.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, FL- February 27, 2016- With a treasure trove of championships already earned at just 24 years old, it’s hard to envision a limit to what Jimmy Zacharias can accomplish.
In 2015 Zacharias captured his fifth NASCAR Whelen All-American Series track championship in the last six years at Chemung Speedrome, already two more than any other driver has earned since the Western New York oval joined NASCAR in 2001.
Zacharias’ magical season saw him rack up 15 wins, 27 top fives and 28 top 10s in 30 combined starts between full-time efforts Chemung and fellow New York track Holland Speedway Motorsports Complex, and a weekend visit to Connecticut’s New London-Waterford Speedbowl. He captured the Empire State NASCAR title for the second time in three seasons and was a mere six points from the podium with a career-best fourth place finish in the Whelen All-American Series national standings.
A native of Candor, New York, Zacharias calls the .375-mile Chemung his home track. In 16 Sunoco Modified division features in 2015, Zacharias posted 10 wins in his family-owned No. 71 Central States Used Clothing Chevrolet. Four of the other six were won by his younger brother, T.J., who finished second in track points after overcoming a mid-season broken wrist.
Zacharias shies away from calling it a sibling rivalry, but the one Chemung title he did not win in the last six years went to his younger brother. They’re often vying head-to-head for checkered flags and championships.
“We’re teammates more than anything, so it didn’t really matter which one of us won,” Zacharias said.
Succeeding in weekly racing is a family tradition that predates the current generation. Zacharias’ uncles Billy Zacharias and Jim Zacharias Jr. each won a NASCAR track championships at the former Tioga Speedway (a.k.a. Shangri-La) in the early 1990s. His grandfather, Jim Zacharias Sr., also earned the NASCAR New York state title in 1974.
“It’s a big thing for the whole family,” Zacharias said of continuing on the winning tradition. “For T.J. and I to win pretty much every race except for a couple, it’s pretty huge.”
In addition to Central States Used Clothing, Zacharias’ 2015 title was also fueled with support from Floyd’s Used Clothing, NAPA Auto Parts of Candor, Insinger’s Sunoco Race Fuels and Waverly Pharmacy. The manpower came from Mike Bohling, Corey Mosher, Cody Jackson, Chris Clemens, Jamie Judge, Joe Sellars and Connor Sellars.
Looking ahead to the coming 2016 regular season, Zacharias is still in the process of finalizing his schedule. With Holland’s switch to Pro Chargers as NASCAR Division I, Zacharias will have to seek other opportunities if he wants to attempt to defend his New York title and make another national run.
“We’ve talked about some different things,” Zacharias said. “We were basically going to get through speedweeks, see what happens and go from there.”
Zacharias towed down to central Florida from his Southern Tier home base to participate in last week’s World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway and experienced mixed results in the four features run by the tour-type modified division.
In the second race of the week, the John Blewett III Memorial 76, Zacharias’ No. 71 dropped a cylinder in the closing laps and he parked it for the week. He ended up borrowing a car for the final two events from the Catalano family, his chief competition at Holland.
Zacharias finished second to Tommy Catalano in a close race for the 2015 Holland crown, but the on-track competition is trumped by the relationship the two families have fostered through their years trekking to race tracks across Upstate New York.
“Our families have been friends forever,” Zacharias said. “There really isn’t a rivalry there. If they need anything we give it to them, and I’m sure if we need anything they’d give it to us.”
Zacharias was able to rally in the borrowed Catalano car for a fourth-place finish in the New Smyrna finale. He’ll now begin the process of mapping out the rest of the season, which will likely include a return to Chemung to expand upon his collection of five championships.
“To do that already is pretty big, but hopefully we can add some more on to it,” Zacharias said. “Maybe even go bigger with it.”
Chemung’s 2016 season will commence on May 15 with the first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series features of the year.
Established in 1982, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR’s national championship program for weekly short track auto racing. In all, 57 paved and dirt tracks throughout the United States and Canada participated in 2015.
Connecticut-based Whelen Engineering is the series’ title sponsor. Whelen Engineering is a leading manufacturer of automotive, aviation, industrial and emergency vehicle lighting. NASCAR tracks and pace cars are among the many showcases for Whelen products.
